Manufacture of golf-balls.



No. 745,213. PATBNTBD NOV. 24,1903."

' P. A. MARTIN. MANUFACTURE OF GOLF BALLS.

APPL? OOOOOOOOOOOOO PT. 8, 1903.

NO MODEL.

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WITNESSES seams PETERS co., PNOYQLII'NQ, wnsumoro o r Patented November24, 1903.

PATENT OFFIC PATRICK ALPHONSUS MARTIN, OF BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

MAN U FACTU RE OF GOLF-BALLS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 745,213, dated November24, 1903.

Application filed September 8, 1903.. Serial No. 172,362. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK ALPI-IONSUS MARTIN, manufacturer, a subjectof the King of Great Britain, residing in Granville street, Birmingham,England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theMannfacture of Golf-Balls, of Which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to the manufacture or production of golf andanalogous balls of that type in which a rubber or other elastic core isinclosed in an outer casing or shell of gutta-percha or like material,and refers in particular to an improved method or process of closing thesaid shell or outer covering around the core, whereby I obtain asolid-closed and seamless cover which is not liable to crack or splitandbe rendered use-.

less when the hall is in play, as frequently happens with balls havingseamed coverings, which are usually made from two hemispherical shellsunited together at their edges, so that the ball has a circumferentialscam in the outer cover; but according to the present invention the coreof the ball is inclosed in a single or one-piece covering or shell of acuplike form, the mouth of which is closed over or onto the core in sucha manner that a solid-closed and perfectly homogeneous covering devoidof external and internal scams or flaws is obtained, the saidclosing-over process being performed in a special manner, as hereinafterdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure1 represents asection of the finished ball. Fig. 2 shows the one-piececup-like shell from which the covering is made, with the core placed inthe bottom of same. Figs. 3 to 7 show the various stages or stepsinvolved in the process of solid-closing the mouth of the-cup andobtaining a perfectly seamless or solid covering.

a is the tensioned rubber or other resilient core of the ball, and b isthe one-piece covering or outer case, which is made from guttapercha orother similar material. cup-like shell from which the said one-piececovering is made, and c is the open mouth thereof, this shell preferablycontaining slightly more material than is actually required for theformation of a covering of the c is the;

desired thickness. In the process of making up the ball the cup-likeshell is first softened by the application of gentle heat, such as byimmersing same in hot water,and then the core is forced into the insideof the said shell and bedded down into the hemispherical bottom thereof,so as to make a dead fit therein, as shown in Fig. 2.

While the shell is still in a soft condition the material contained inthe .upright Walls 0 surrounding the mouth,is manipulated and stretchedor drawn upward and also simultaneously gathered in, contracted, orcircumferentially throttled at a point below the upper edge of the cup,so as to make the saidmaterial take aconfiguration resembling that of a'trumpet-mouth or the mouth of a sack, and thus the shell is broughtalmost completely over the top of the core, as represented in Fig. 3.Next the inside and throat c c of the gathered-in portion of the shellis fired or superficially melted by momentarily applying a spirit-flameor other jet thereto, and the closing in or shutting over of thematerial upon the core is completed by pinching together the wallsthereof, when conse quent upon the melted condition of the inner partsthe meeting surfaces of the said walls are homogeneously united and thesaid core is completely inclosed. The closed-over portion of thematerial is next further manipulated or molded into a solid conoidalform, a srepresented in the sectional view Fig. 4 and marked 0 whoseapex is drawn out or twisted into a stem 0 having at the tip end a lumpof superfluous material,such as 0 which is subsequently broken off orremoved, as shown in Fig. 5, and any small seam which may remain or bepresent in the apex of the coned portion is sealed or closed by meltingthe material at this point by a flame-jet or otherwise, when thesolid-closed shell now has the pear-shaped appearance represented inelevation'in Fig. 6.

The stretching and gathering up and solidclosing of the walls of theupper portion of the cup-like shell in the manner described has theeffect of slightly thinning the walls of said upper portion bydisplacing some of the material therefrom into the solid conoidal crown;but in the final stage of the process in order to restore this displacedmaterial to the said upper Walls and equalize the thickness of thecovering throughout, in addition to imparting the true spherical form tothe ball, the pear-shaped body, as represented in Fig. 6, is placedbetween and operated upon by suitable dies or tools designed to act uponthe conoidal portion of the covering in the direction of its major axisand force the material thereof back into the Walls of the said covering,which are thus given a uniform thickness, and any superfluous materialthat may be present in the covering is spread out between the surfacesof the dies into an annular flash or circumferential fin d, (see theelevation of the shaped ball, Fig. 7,) which is subsequently removed bya clipping process.

Having fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secureby Letters Patent is- 1. In the manufacture of golf and like balls ofthe rubber-core type; making the coverings or casings from asingle solidor one-piece shell of a cup-like section, the mouth of which issolid-closed or shut over upon the inserted core, substantially asherein described.

2. In the manufacture of golf and like balls of the rubber-core type;making. the coverings or casings from a single solid or one-piece shellof a cup-like section the mouth of which is solid-closed or shut overonto the inserted core by gathering in orcircumferentially contractingand displacing the material at the side walls of the said cup anduniting the meeting surfaces, thereby completely inclosing the core andforming a homogeneous thickened or conoidal portion, which issubsequently forced back and the walls of the covering equalized inthickness by the action of dies or tools, substantially as and for thepurpose herein described and set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

PATRICK ALPIIONSUS MARTIN.

Witnesses:

HENRY SKERRETT, ARTHUR SADLER.

